Discussion Paper: Australia's ability to meet the requirements of European Commission Regulation No. 1005/2008 'establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

On 29 September 2008, the European Commission (EC) passed Regulation 1005/2008 ‘establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing’ (the EC IUU Regulation). The Regulation will come into force on 1 January 2010. The Regulation has the following major implications for the Australian seafood export industry: a. All consignments of wild caught fish and fish product (with exceptions) will be prohibited from being imported into European Union Member States, unless a catch certificate accompanies them. The catch certificate must contains the harvest details of the fish (e.g. vessel and master’s name and number, fishing licence number, date and location of capture, landing weights, details of processing on board) in addition to export, import and transport details. b. Australian authorities are to validate catch certificates and in doing so, have the power to provide such validation and attest to the veracity of the catch certificate. c. Australia is to provide prior notification to the EC certifying its arrangements with respect to conservation and management measures which must be complied with by its fishing vessels. d. Australia will be required to verify consignments and associated catch certificates where the importing State doubts its legitimacy and will also need to be prepared for ‘on-the-spot audits’ of its catch certification and validation process.